Saturday, July 12, 2003
So, I'm people-watching at lunch today, and I see this couple in their late seventies get up from the booth across from me...
The woman has a walker with wheels on the front two legs and rubber stops on the back two while her husband's cane has a single shaft and four rubber-tipped prongs. The woman gets to her feet first, pulling herself up quickly between the legs of the walker, and she pushes herself a few feet away from the table. She turns around and watches her husband then. The man is slow to rise, using the table and his cane to provide stability. I can see his arms strain as he makes it to his feet. After this workout, he rests against the side of the booth.
The wife's only words are a question: "Ready to race?"
She turns and starts scooting her walker across the room, and the man follows with a "Yes."
The woman has a walker with wheels on the front two legs and rubber stops on the back two while her husband's cane has a single shaft and four rubber-tipped prongs. The woman gets to her feet first, pulling herself up quickly between the legs of the walker, and she pushes herself a few feet away from the table. She turns around and watches her husband then. The man is slow to rise, using the table and his cane to provide stability. I can see his arms strain as he makes it to his feet. After this workout, he rests against the side of the booth.
The wife's only words are a question: "Ready to race?"
She turns and starts scooting her walker across the room, and the man follows with a "Yes."
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Sometimes people I've known for years hit me across the grey matter with details of their lives that I find unexpectedly interesting. I take interest in the little idiosyncrasies that appear as unrecognized opposites in their characters.
Take my friend Kirsten: at 19, she already holds an undergraduate degree in Digital Media but she is a Valley Girl from CA - and yes, she has been known to say "Just like that, but different." Kirsten's mom gets excited when she experiences rain storms on car trips, because in California, all the rain smells like asphalt. Her dad stockpiled their garage with gallons of water and freeze-dried foods in preparation for the potential "Big One" earthquake and the Y2K disaster, but he didn't get enough gas for the lamps and stoves to last much longer than a short camping trip. One other tidbit that I find interesting is that Kirsten's parents are so cheap that they refuse to run the air conditioner even in the hottest parts of the California summers, yet her dad gives her hundred dollar bills for spending money every time he saw her during college.
When I see how complicated every-day average not-so-average people are, I wonder at the audacity I and other writers possess when we attempt to create believable fictional characters.
Take my friend Kirsten: at 19, she already holds an undergraduate degree in Digital Media but she is a Valley Girl from CA - and yes, she has been known to say "Just like that, but different." Kirsten's mom gets excited when she experiences rain storms on car trips, because in California, all the rain smells like asphalt. Her dad stockpiled their garage with gallons of water and freeze-dried foods in preparation for the potential "Big One" earthquake and the Y2K disaster, but he didn't get enough gas for the lamps and stoves to last much longer than a short camping trip. One other tidbit that I find interesting is that Kirsten's parents are so cheap that they refuse to run the air conditioner even in the hottest parts of the California summers, yet her dad gives her hundred dollar bills for spending money every time he saw her during college.
When I see how complicated every-day average not-so-average people are, I wonder at the audacity I and other writers possess when we attempt to create believable fictional characters.
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
Since this can be edited out later, I'm just going to leave you with this: Coming soon - HardCorePoetic!
